Now that we’ve recovered from our Sew Down Portland weekend retreat, we (Christy and Lori) want to share a few pics. Both of us had a great time and look forward to the possibility of attending future MQG events. Meeting other modern quilting enthusiasts was definitely a lot of fun and worth seeking out again. Hopefully the MQG will have more future events on the western side of the country to make traveling to and from easy.

Quilt Blocks from Heather Jones Workshop - You & Me Quilt Pattern
Quilt Blocks from Heather Jones Workshop – You & Me Quilt Pattern

The pattern for Heather’s You & Me quilt was pretty straightforward and didn’t require a lot of instruction from Heather.  As a result, the workshop was mostly heads down sewing time.  The best part was seeing all the different color and fabric choices for the pattern.

Look at all those scraps! Christy's ready for improv sewing. Bring it on!
Look at all those scraps! Christy’s ready for improv sewing. Bring it on!
Finished results of great "conversation" with other sewists during the improv round robin workshop.
Finished results of great “conversation” with other sewists during the improv round robin workshop.

Christy is on the left holding her finished improv piece in Sherri Lynn Wood’s workshop. Sherri’s workshop was fantastic and a great way to engage in “conversation” with other participants. Each person did an initial starting block that was passed along with our container of scraps to the next person.  After taking a look at the general composition, the conversation would be added to from the respective scrap bin.  Each sewist who added to the conversation also had her own signature fabric that was added during her turn.  Both Christy and Lori really enjoyed the improv workshop and found Sherri Lynn Wood’s approach quite refreshing.

Lori's initial block for the improv round robin.
Lori’s initial block for the improv round robin.
Fun to see how the initial block evolved! Great conversation was had by fellow sewists to complete Lori's improv round robin block!
Fun to see how the initial block evolved. Great conversation was had by fellow sewists to complete Lori’s improv round robin block.

 

Finished Night Sky quilt pattern blocks from Julie Herman's workshop.
Finished Night Sky quilt pattern blocks from Julie Herman’s workshop.

Learning to use Julie’s Sidekick Ruler was a nice change from the typical straight line cuts in quilting.  Accurate cutting is definitely a key factor to getting all those points to match!

Unfortunately, we don’t have any pics of our last workshop, Shooting Star mini quilt with Lee Heinrich.  Lori ended up only being able to stay for the first 30 minutes or so due to catching an earlier flight out of Portland.  All in all, we had a great time at the Sew Down.  Despite the snow in Portland, we were well taken care of by The Modern Quilt Guild, Drygoods Design, Modern Domestic and The Nines Hotel!  Thank you to all!